Yesterday a client told me about his dilemma, he is a talented IT professional and gets contract after contract without really looking, his work speaks for itself. He has been in this profession all is adult life and really wants a career change, thus the coaching. It is interesting that when one contract is about to end the next job just appears for him, yet this is the time when he wants to pull back and re-train in his new path, one which is more alignment with his values and passion. It feels like the universe is testing him each time, here is a job you can do, take it, and he is standing on the fork on the road wondering if job security is more important than learning new skills. You need to be practical before taking the leap of faith into a new endeavor, as there are many considerations, being the main breadwinner in the family  you have responsibilities, and in my model of the world that takes precedence over anything else. Yet by the same token if you can put time a...

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There are more and more people starting their own business, as we reach a fork on the road with our careers and lifestyle choices many decide that working for someone else does not really provide us with enough balance and flexibility that we need in our lives.  So we take the plunge and fly solo, and this means we do EVERYTHING, from the actual work to administration, marketing, promotions and even become our own PA. Surely there are not enough hours in the day to do all those job roles and so many of us work after hours including weekends and even during our holidays after all we do not get the employee benefits anymore and we need to be available for our clients. So where did the balance go? We want our cake and eat it too, which means we are chasing our tails and often doing tasks that bring no joy as this is not want we are passionate about, we want to talk to people, create, do our thing.. Yet we find ourselves sending out flyers, typing up proposals,  making cold call...

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Have you ever stopped to consider that the world you think you are living in is not actually what is going on? Let me explain. I wrote an email to a potential client the other day asking permission to gatecrash an event they were holding. It was a bold thing to do, but someone I trust had suggested I get in contact with them as they thought I might be able to add some value to the service they were offering in the future. I sent the mail and got on with my life.A week later and I was looking at my diary to discover that I had this event still pencilled in and another client pushing for the slot. I sent another email to the new client to see whether it was still appropriate for me to go. Nothing.With the event the following day and close of business fast approaching I managed to dig out a mobile number for the client using some deft googling skills. I wrote an SMS to her explaining my circumstances and hit send.I then had a flash of panic. I kind of 'Oh my, I think I overstepped the mar...

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As I was cleaning the bathroom I usually wipe the sink, tub followed by the toilet. The shower gets done when I am in there, one of my habits I guess. Yesterday what I noticed was the tiles surrounding the toilet, they were dirty and surprisingly I had not noticed this before. The thought occurred to me that I was just focusing on the usual areas and just going about it in an automatic kind of way. In life how often do we run this similar program? Just do as we always do and not change anything? When we are on the path of continual self-improvement we are forced to reassess and look outside our ‘usual areas’. Our environment changes and we begin to expand our awareness. That is what I got yesterday whilst cleaning, expanded awareness and glad I was able to see the difference and do something about it. Then we see new things in our consciousness we can improve our situation whatever that is. This applies to anything in life, career, relationships, self love, health, finances and so o...

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As we grow and stretch ourselves we look for validation, so we know we are on the right track. This validation can come from other people who tell us that we are heading down the right path or perhaps intuitively we know that this is right as it feels so good. This is when we trust our own decision making and feelings. It can be a challenge when there is so much choice around. There are so many factors to consider and weighing up options. Take changing careers as an example. We want to pursue a different path, we know what we like and what we are good at, so we head down this road. Some people close to us will have an opinion (or we seek it as part of the decision making). This will give us encouragement or perhaps a reality check. Then you also have to consider your prospects and career growth. Too many choices may even paralyze you and once overwhelmed you do not make a decision, as this gets just ‘too hard’. This is when you just have to trust yourself and go with the flow, make a ...

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In this changing economic climate we may be faced with options that previously we did not entertain. In life there are always surprises and it is how we navigate through these turbulent times that we can get clearer on our purpose and our chosen career. If your position is being made redundant, then see this as a window of opportunities. Here are some tips to get you thinking about your options. Going back to your old company as a consultant Sometimes there is an option to continue working in the same company as a consultant. Naturally you are keen to go back and work under these new conditions. Ensure you are charging appropriately as now you have to manage your own insurances and superannuation. You can make more money this way as it gives you the flexibility to charge more per hour for your specialised skills. In addition you can find other contracts with other companies if you so wish as you are not tied to your previous employer. You are leveraging of your time t...

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  How many of you are searching to find the right career for you or are in a career that you don’t really enjoy? So many people spend their whole lives in careers that they don’t enjoy and in many cases hate. Why is that? I believe that most people do not take the time for some self-exploration before they commit to a career and therefore do not understand or realise what career is best suited for them. Rather than focus on what you truly enjoy you may go into a career for the wrong reasons i.e. attractive income and perks, security, peer & family pressure etc. I am one of the victims of not taking the time for some self-exploration surrounding my career choice when I was younger. I spent 19 years in a military role that really was not suited to me and I never really felt fulfilled or satisfied in that career. I was attracted to it for the wrong reasons. When I did conduct some self-exploration and started paying attention to some signs I realised that I absolutely loved a...

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With modern society we are becoming more flexible to change, we reinvent our wardrobes to suit the occasion, we renovate our homes with the newest exotic home wares and we even change careers to suit our lifestyles. Change is everywhere, if you don’t like it you get left behind. It is that simple. Life changes when we see that the old way will not cut it anymore, we need to think ahead and plan our lives being proactive in approach. Life changes can be forecasted or we can be surprised, either way we adapt to our new circumstances. Often times people see this in a reactive way and their defenses go up, there is resistance and they say ‘”I don’t see that working, why change it?”. Life has surprises no matter how well we organize and plan it. I heard a story of this wonderful man who had a one night stand. The lady he was with got pregnant and he left his girlfriend which he adored, to be with the mother of his child. They got married and he has regretted it ever since. Eventually the...

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Success holds many different meanings to people. To some it’s equal with being famous and earning lots of money. To others it means helping out others to improve social conditions, achieving excellence in a particular area of life/ career or simply creating something that gives you that warm fuzzy feeling and wells up a beaming smile from cheek to cheek Yet no matter what peoples personal ambition is, there’s a common reason in the traits possessed by all successful individuals. Firstly, they have a dream. Secondly, they believe in themselves. And finally, they’re prepared to work and stick with it when the going gets tough. A theme that keeps repeating itself in successful peoples thinking is the importance of being able to learn from their mistakes. In fact, what separates the winner from the person who also ran in the race, is the achiever’s ability to get up again and again and keep heading for that goal – despite failures and setbacks along the way. Think of a person you believ...

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